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Graphic

 

Graphic - Lady Munster - Louth - Ulster Duke

 

 

This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the Belfast Steamship Company ship Graphic. which started on the main Belfast SS night route from Liverpool to Belfast.

 

Graphic and her sister Heroic, were built in 1906 by Harland & Wolff for the Belfast Steamship Company. They both had careers of over 40 years with various Coast Lines companies. They were the first Belfast SS ships with quadruple expansion engines, and were followed by the slightly larger Patriotic in 1912, although she reverted to triple-expansion engines. Graphic was 1800 gross tons and 325 feet long (Patriotic was only 5 feet longer, but 2300 gross tons). Graphic continued on the Liverpool-Belfast route throughout the First World War, and had an encounter with a surfaced U-Boat, which she managed to escape. In the summer of 1920, according to D.B.McNeil and Robert C.Sinclair, Graphic operated on the Ardrossan-Belfast daylight route. (Note that Duckworth and Langmuir, writing in 1939, refer to her operating this service in the summers of 1921 and 1922). In 1923 she was involved in a collision with with a freighter off Holywood, and sank in the Victoria Channel. She was refloated and repaired at her builders.

 

Graphic was withdrawn from Belfast SS service in 1929 on the delivery of the three new Belfast SS Motorships, Ulster Monarch, Ulster Queen and Ulster Prince (1). She was given an extensive overhaul, which included a rearward extension of the boat deck, and the provision of two shorter and more modern funnels (one of which was a dummy) to match those of the new motorships. She was renamed Lady Munster and joined the British & Irish SP Co fleet between Liverpool and Dublin until again displaced by new motorships, the Munster (3) and Leinster (3) of 1938. The Lady Munster then became the Louth (2). In 1938, Louth (2) had her funnels painted yellow (Coast Lines cruising colours) and began a service from Liverpool to Glasgow (actually Greenock) twice weekly with passengers for the Empire Exhibition at Bellahouston. These runs were soon abandoned. During the war, Louth (2) had run on the LMS railway route between Heysham and Belfast. Only one of the 1938 British & Irish SP Co motorships, and only Ulster Monarch from the 1929 Belfast SS trio returned to service after the war, and so Louth (2) initially reverted to the Liverpool-Dublin route. On delivery of the 1948 British & Irish SP Co replacements Leinster (4) and Munster (4), she became the Ulster Duke and again ran between Liverpool and Belfast until 1951. She was immediately sold for scrapping in La Spezia, but sank in the Bay of Biscay whilst being towed en route.

 

 

Ship Names on this Page:-

Graphic (Belfast SS: 1906-1929)

Lady Munster (B&I: 1929-1938)

Louth (2) (B&I/Coast Lines: 1938-1949)

Ulster Duke (Belfast SS: 1949-1951)

 

Associated Pages:-

Coast Lines - Coast Lines Header Page

P&O Ferries - P&O Ferries Header Page

Belfast SS History - Overview of the Liverpool-Belfast night boats

Belfast SS Motorships - More detailed history of the Liverpool-Belfast motorships

British & Irish SP Co - Overview of the B&I SP Co

UK Excursion Ships

Ferry Postcards

Cruise Ship Postcards

Ocean Liner Postcards

Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates

Simplon Postcards - Home Page

 

References:-

Across the Irish Sea: by Robert Sinclair - Conway Maritime 1990

The B&I Line: by Hazel P.Smyth - Gill & Macmillan 1984

Irish Passenger Steamship Services - Volumes 1 & 2: by D.B.McNeil - David & Charles 1969

 

           

 

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Graphic

(Belfast SS: 1906-1929)

 

Graphic and her sister Heroic, were built in 1906 by Harland & Wolff for the Belfast Steamship Company. They both had careers of over 40 years with various Coast Lines companies. They were the first Belfast SS ships with quadruple expansion engines, and were followed by the slightly larger Patriotic in 1912, although she reverted to triple-expansion engines. Graphic was 1800 gross tons and 325 feet long (Patriotic was only 5 feet longer, but 2300 gross tons). Graphic continued on the Liverpool-Belfast route throughout the First World War, and had an encounter with a surfaced U-Boat, which she managed to escape. In the summer of 1920, according to D.B.McNeil, Graphic operated on the Ardrossan-Belfast daylight route. However, Duckworth and Langmuir, writing in 1939, refer to her operating this service in the summers of 1921 and 1922. In 1923 she was involved in a collision with with a freighter off Holywood, and sank in the Victoria Channel. She was refloated and repaired at her builders.

 

Graphic was withdrawn from Belfast SS service in 1929 on the delivery of the three new Belfast SS Motorships, Ulster Monarch, Ulster Queen and Ulster Prince (1). She was given an extensive overhaul, which included a rearward extension of the boat deck, and the provision of two shorter and more modern funnels (one of which was a dummy) to match those of the new motorships. She was renamed Lady Munster and joined the British & Irish SP Co fleet between Liverpool and Dublin.

 

 

Belfast SS advertising postcard for Heroic.

The same design was issued for Graphic.

 

 

 

Art postcard of Graphic.

 

 

 

Belfast SS advertising postcard for Graphic, Heroic and Magic.

 

 

 

L&NWR official Belfast SS advertising postcard for Graphic, Heroic and Magic. and Magic.

 

 

 

Postcard showing Graphic or Heroic, using the same image as the L&NWR card above.

 

 

 

Advertising postcard showing Graphic, Heroic or Patriotic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lady Munster

(B&I: 1929-1938)

 

Graphic was withdrawn from Belfast SS service in 1929 on the delivery of the three new Belfast SS Motorships, Ulster Monarch, Ulster Queen and Ulster Prince (1). She was given an extensive overhaul, which included a rearward extension of the boat deck, and the provision of two shorter and more modern funnels (one of which was a dummy) to match those of the new motorships. She was renamed Lady Munster and joined the British & Irish SP Co fleet between Liverpool and Dublin until again displaced by new motorships, the Munster (3) and Leinster (3) of 1938. The Lady Munster then became the Louth (2).

 

 

B&I company postcard of Lady Munster.

 

 

 

Photographic postcard of Lady Munster in B&I service.

 

 

 

Photographic postcard of Lady Munster in B&I service.

 

 

 

Photographic postcard of Lady Munster in B&I service.

 

 

 

 

 

Louth (2)

(B&I: 1938-1949)

 

The Lady Munster became the Louth (2) in 1938. She had her funnels painted yellow (Coast Lines cruising colours) and began a service from Liverpool to Glasgow (actually Greenock) twice weekly with passengers for the Empire Exhibition at Bellahouston. These runs were soon abandoned. During the war, Louth (2) had run on the LMS railway route between Heysham and Belfast. Only one of the 1938 British & Irish SP Co motorships survived the war, and only Ulster Monarch from the 1929 trio returned to Belfast SS service, and so Louth (2) initially reverted to the Liverpool-Dublin route. On delivery of the 1948 British & Irish SP Co replacements Leinster (4) and Munster (4), she became the Ulster Duke and again ran between Liverpool and Belfast until 1951.

 

 

Coast Lines company postcard of Louth.

Colours were grey hull and yellow funnels.

Click to open larger image in new window

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ulster Duke

(Belfast SS: 1949-1951)

 

Only one of the 1938 British & Irish SP Co motorships, and only Ulster Monarch from the 1929 trio returned to Belfast SS service, and so Louth (2) initially reverted to the Liverpool-Dublin route. On delivery of the 1948 British & Irish SP Co replacements Leinster (4) and Munster (4), she became the Ulster Duke and again ran between Liverpool and Belfast until 1951. Ulster Duke was immediately sold for scrapping in La Spezia. Despite Coast Lines recommendations that she should sail to Italy under her own steam, her buyers decided to tow her, and she sank in the Bay of Biscay whilst en route.

 

 

Photograph of Ulster Duke on return to BSS service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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